Two crew members were seriously injured in an accidental activation of an aircraft’s ejection system at a Russian bomber unit.
The incident took place on December 7, 2025, at one of Russia’s bomber aviation regiments, as reported by the Fighterbomber Telegram channel, which is run by an individual affiliated with the Russian Air Force.
The ejection system of a military aircraft parked inside a shelter reportedly fired while the aircraft was on the ground. The pilot and navigator who were inside the aircraft at the time sustained life-threatening injuries. A state commission has been dispatched to the scene and is now working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
While Russian authorities have not disclosed the aircraft type involved, the presence of only a pilot and a navigator suggests a two-seat tactical bomber. In Russian service, this would most likely involve either the Sukhoi Su-24 or the newer Su-34, both operated by bomber aviation regiments and equipped with individual ejection seats for each crew member. Larger platforms such as the Tu-22M3 or Tu-160 typically carry four crew members.
Ground-level ejections carry extreme risk
Designed to save aircrew during in-flight emergencies, ejection seats rely on explosive charges and rockets that can cause severe or fatal injuries if activated at low or zero altitude, particularly if parachute deployment is incomplete or compromised.
The incident recalls a fatal 2021 accident involving a Tu-22M3 bomber, when an unintended ground ejection during pre-flight preparations killed three crew members after the seats fired sequentially.
Accidental ejections on the ground are not unique to Russian aviation. In November 2024, a rear-seat occupant was unintentionally ejected from a US Air National Guard F-15D Eagle during ground operations in Massachusetts, surviving the incident but underscoring how catastrophic the consequences of inadvertent seat activation can be even outside combat or flight operations.